A slide fastener is used to secure the two pieces of fabric or other flexible material, such as on a garment or a bag or other article. A slide fastener includes a slider that engages with elements located on tapes to open and close the slide fastener. When the slider is moved along the tape, a generally Y-shaped channel meshes together rows of opposing elements of the tape to close the slide fastener. When the slider is moved in the opposite direction, the generally Y-shaped channel separates the rows of opposing elements to open the slide fastener.
When opposing elements are meshed together, the element axes of the elements are generally parallel (i.e., separated by 180 degrees) and the elements lie within the same plane. When the slide fastener is positioned along a curved surface, corner, ridge line, edge or the like of an article, the elements are required to bend and are thus subjected to undesirable forces in multiple directions that could break or damage the slide fastener. Moreover, it is difficult to attach traditional slide fasteners along a ridge line, corner, curved surface, edge or the like.